Welcome to the BTSC

The Brownfields 2015 Conference will be held in Chicago, Illinois on September 2-5, 2015. The conference, cosponsored by U.S. EPA, is the largest and most comprehensive event in the nation that focuses on issues important to community revitalization and the assessment, cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated properties. For more information on the conference, please go to the Brownfields 2015 Conference website.

The Brownfields Road Map outlines the general steps involved in the investigation and cleanup of brownfields sites and presents related strategies, technologies and related information resources. Key features of the Brownfields Road Map are described below. View Online | Order: EPA 542-R-12-002

View projects at brownfields and other land revitalization sites nationwide:

A brownfields site is defined as "real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant."

Decision-makers involved with preparing brownfields sites for productive reuse often require technical and legal assistance to fully understand the complexities of investigating and cleaning up contaminated sites.

The Brownfields and Land Revitalization Technology Support
Center (BTSC, formerly the Brownfields Technology Support
Center) is a cooperative effort to provide technical support to federal, state, local, and
tribal officials for questions related to the use of innovative
technologies and strategies for site assessment and cleanup.

EPA created the BTSC in 1998 to help decision-makers:

Evaluate strategies to streamline the site investigation and cleanup process

Identify and review information about complex technology options

Evaluate contractor capabilities and recommendations

Explain complex technologies to communities

Partners in the BTSC include the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response
(OSWER) and Office of Research and Development (ORD);
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and Argonne National
Laboratory. As a Center partner, EPA’s Brownfields Program
helps to identify support needed by EPA’s Brownfields Program
participants.

Overview of Accomplishments
Since its creation in 1998, the BTSC has provided information to hundreds of stakeholders, direct site support to more than 70 sites, and helped increase awareness and use of innovative technologies and techniques for investigation and remediation of contaminated sites. Through direct support, the development of publications and other technology transfer activities, the BTSC is helping to advance the efficient cleanup and redevelopment of sites nationwide.
Learn more about our accomplishments

Land revitalization, and making property reuse an important part of
all cleanup activities

Enhancing counter-terrorism

Better integrating information

Reducing waste and recovering energy

Campaigning against waste

Workforce development and succession planning

OSWER's goal for revitalization is to broadly promote the lessons learned by
the Brownfields program and how revitalization can complement traditional cleanup
programs and lead to faster cleanups. Several offices within OSWER are helping
EPA achieve this goal.

EPA Office of Research and Development
EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) is the principal scientific
research arm of EPA. ORD is organized into three national laboratories and
two national centers, and conducts research and fosters the use of science and
technology in fulfilling EPA's mission. Technology Support Center services include
site-specific assistance in the areas of Superfund, RCRA, and Brownfields; technology
transfer activities; technical assistance; development and testing of management
techniques; and the development of training courses.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) manages engineering, construction, and
real estate programs for various federal agencies. USACE is a partner with
EPA and other federal agencies in helping communities prevent, assess, safely
clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. USACE has established a network
of brownfields specialists throughout the country, and provides assistance through
the Hazardous, Toxic and Radioactive Waste Center of Expertise (HTRW); the U.S.
Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Environmental Lab at Waterways
Experiment Station (ERDC-WES); and the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development
Center, Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL). USACE is also
involved in revitalization efforts at BRAC sites and Formerly Used Defense Sites
(FUDS).

USACE provides technical assistance to communities for the assessment and evaluation
of sites. USACE expertise enables it to help communities address various challenges
related to revitalization, such as:

Provide technical solutions for site assessment and restoration issues

Argonne National Laboratory
The Argonne National Laboratory is a multi-disciplinary research and development
laboratory focused on basic science, nuclear and non-nuclear energy science
and technologies, national security, and environmental matters. In the environmental
area, Argonne's activities range from studies of fundamental contaminant behavior
to risk management associated with cleanup and site long-term stewardship. Argonne
assists several federal agencies with environmental technical support in the
areas of characterization, process systems and engineering, and integrated management.
Argonne assists the EPA's BTSC in the application of its Triad approach to sampling
and analysis to manage site decision uncertainty.

Specific services provided by Argonne include:

Review of plans for investigations

Assistance in preparing site assessment plans and strategies

Assistance in selecting and deploying technologies and methodologies
for investigations of soil and groundwater contamination

EPA Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization (OBLR)
EPA's Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization (OBLR) empowers states,
communities, and other stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together
in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse
brownfields. EPA is funding assessment demonstration pilot programs to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup
and redevelopment models; job training pilot programs to provide training for residents of communities affected by brownfields
to facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and prepare trainees for future employment
in the environmental field; and cleanup revolving loan fund programs to capitalize loan funds for the environmental
cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs are intended to provide EPA, states,
tribes, municipalities, and communities with useful information and strategies
as they continue to seek new methods to promote a unified approach to site assessment,
environmental cleanup, and redevelopment.

Brownfields stakeholders involved in the selection and use of technologies
for environmental cleanup can visit OBLR's website to learn more about the
brownfields grant programs that are available. The BTSC works closely with OBLR
and can provide direct technical assistance to communities that participate
in OBLR's initiatives and grant programs.

The BTSC works in concert with brownfields stakeholders to implement approaches to ensure the design of protective remedies and efficient revitalization projects. BTSC partners bring the knowledge of the latest field-based analytical tools, remedial technologies, decision support tools (DST), and other technologies and first-hand knowledge and experience using these technologies to address complex implementation scenarios. The BTSC functions not only as a technical resource to address questions and issues, but in a broader role to educate and advise stakeholders and practitioners about approaches to more effectively and efficiently cleanup sites.

While the BTSC helps to resolve complex issues and advance the objectives of individual sites, it uses direct technical assistance as a means of technology transfer to affect the larger cleanup community. Not only does the site more efficiently progress from investigation through remediation and reuse, but other outputs are generated that will transfer information, increasing technology acceptance, stakeholder capital, and site manager expertise; and more efficient and protective remedies across the programs.

Since its creation, the BTSC has:

Responded to nearly 200 requests for information and site technical support in 30 states, from NJ to CA

Provided direct site support to more than 70 sites

Developed numerous case studies, site reports, tools and templates for site managers and other decision makers

Created technology bulletins, primers, and other publications such as the Brownfields Road Map that have become valuable resources

Developed outreach for a diverse group of stakeholders ranging from affected communities to engineers and scientists

Helped to train and educate hundreds of stakeholders

Worked with towns, cities, states, EPA regions, and Tribes in developing cleanup solutions

Assisted with SAPs, QAPPs, CSMs, and a host of technical planning materials to develop approaches to remediating a variety of contaminants and media from metals in soils to VOC vapor intrusion concerns

Provided recommendations and comments to improve work plans and action plans at various site types from urban industrial facilities to rural mining sites

Advocated the use of cutting edge technologies and techniques

Advanced the state of the practice technologies and techniques to build capacity for the timely and cost effective cleanup and reuse of Brownfields sites